At the beginning of the 21st century, medicine is increasingly
based on understanding the functions of genes and the molecular
mechanisms of diseases. In pancreatology, the understanding
of functions and dysfunctions of the exocrine and
endocrine pancreas is derived from molecular biological data
on the actions of compounds in subcellular compartments and
intracellular transcription pathways.

The extracellular signal regulated protein kinases (ERK1/2)
are essential for normal development and functional plasti-city of the central nervous system. However, a growing
number of recent studies in models of cerebral ischemia,
brain trauma and neurodegenerative diseases implicate a
detrimental role for ERK1/2 signaling during oxidative
neuronal injury. Neurons undergoing oxidative stress-rela-ted injuries typically display a biphasic or sustained pattern
of ERK1/2 activation.